Blue Ridge holds off Trinity Episcopal

Blue Ridge never really messes around when it comes to basketball scheduling, but a regular season opener with defending VISAA Division I state champion Trinity Episcopal in the first round of the always loaded Sleepy Thompson Tournament at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes is full fledged leap into the deep end in the opener.

No worries for the Barons though. Blue Ridge pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Trinity Episcopal 75-64, with an explosive 30-point performance by Darius McGhee leading the way. McGhee went 11-for-22 from the field including an impressive 7-for-15 night beyond the arc while also pulling down 10 rebounds. The Liberty University pledge didn’t commit a single turnover either and nabbed three steals on the defensive end.

Sardaar Calhoun was also efficient in a big-time way, going 6-for-11 from the field while scoring 14 points and grabbing five boards. Chris Rogers scored 12 points including a pair of 3-pointers and also dished out five assists while committing just two turnovers.

Myles Jones chipped in nine points on the night and Jaden Frazier finished with six.

Trinity Episcopal big man Armando Bacot, one of the top recruits in the Class of 2019 who has offers from Duke, Kansas and North Carolina, finished with 39 points and 11 rebounds on 17-for-22 shooting, but the Barons didn’t really let anyone else hurt them. Henry Coleman had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Titans while Tink Boyd had 11 assists.

The Barons will now face tournament host St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes at 9 p.m. Friday night.